Rich Brittingham on Data Centers Trends
Vice President Rich Brittingham describes recent trends in data center development, including location considerations, energy needs, artificial intelligence, and design technology.
www.dewberry.com
Dewberry is headquartered in the data center capital of the world, Northern Virginia, and has proudly supported the data center market for almost ten years. While the confidential nature of these projects precludes me from talking about project specifics, I can share some insight on the development process and current market trends and influences. The rapid growth in the market over the past five years has led to some changes in both public perception and owner priorities. Here in Northern Virginia, there is growing public and political opposition to the data center industry. Initially praised as a use that generates tax revenue and creates jobs without overburdening public services, there's now concern that data centers are crowding out other industrial uses and limiting diversity in the commercial tax base. Northern Virginia jurisdictions are passing new legislation around elements such as architectural design guidelines and sustainability, and there is additional discussion about potentially limiting data center uses even further. This has led to a radial expansion around existing data center regions. There is growing activity south down the I-95 corridor and north into Maryland. Areas that are proximate to the current critical mass in Northern Virginia. I think we've all heard about artificial intelligence. It has gotten a lot of press lately, highlighting the potential influence on our personal and professional lives. It is the data center industry which is bringing AI to reality. Not surprisingly, these powerful computing systems require 10 to 20 times the power of the data centers which have been constructed over the past five to 10 years. This is leading to another geographic shift in the marketplace. Previously, the priorities were around latency and redundancy, and it drove demand in certain markets like Northern Virginia. Now, access to power trumps almost all of the other site characteristics. Because of this, data center owners are bringing Dewberry to relatively remote locations that only five years ago would not have been considered due to other site characteristics. Dewberry can offer value to our data center clients in many ways. We're a national firm with office locations in many existing and future data center markets. We can leverage our multidisciplinary skills and relationships for the mutual benefit of our clients. For example, Dewberry’s water group has relationships with municipalities that overlap many of our data center projects. Their intimate knowledge of the existing and proposed infrastructure allows for more efficient evaluation of utilities during due diligence, and often allows us to facilitate communication between both parties during final design. Our relationships in the energy market provide a similar benefit. We're often working for both the utility provider and the end user during final design. This provides mutual benefit to both parties, resulting in overall project efficiency. Finally, our staff truly enjoys the opportunity to leverage modern design technology in support of our data center clients. We're blending Civil 3D with BIM and other similar softwares throughout the project lifecycle. The use of this modern technology is essential due to the complexity of the underground utilities. A typical project requires design and profiling of over ten miles of underground utilities, all while coordinating with our partners on their various design elements. This concurrent design would not be possible without embracing and understanding modern technology, and it is a point of pride for our staff here at Dewberry. We are proud of the role we've played in the growth of this essential modern day infrastructure. As designers, we need to continue adapting to industry trends, embracing design challenges, and being cognizant of the relationship these facilities have with the surrounding community. We're only at the beginning in this data center market and we are excited for what's next.